ARCHITECTURE

GRADE 3: TRIMESTER 3: ARCHITECTURE

Architecture is the design, planning, and construction of buildings, dwellings, or structures.

In the Fairmount art room, some 3rd graders had already begun work on a beautiful and detailed mixed media Eiffel Tower piece. Monsieur Gustave Eiffel designed the Eiffel Tower, and it was completed in Paris in 1889. Believe it or not, almost all kids have some experience working as architects! If you've ever built a house using legos, you've worked with architecture. If you've ever built a fortress in Minecraft, you've worked with architecture. If you've ever built a fort out of sticks, pillows, blankets, furniture, or lumber, you've worked with architecture. Below are three drawing videos involving different forms of architecture. As an extension to your learning, and with your parents' permission, I recommend building a house, RV, skyscraper, school, or fortress using Legos or other blocks. Take a phone pic and share it with me! If you have Minecraft, build a house or other dwelling, tower, castle, or fortress and take a screen shot. I would LOVE to see what you create.

I would LOVE to see the examples of architecture that you have drawn, colored, painted, or BUILT! You can take a photo with a smartphone or iPad or a screen shot and share with me at mwgriffi@jeffcoschools.us using email or by sharing through Google Drive.

I also recommend watching Treehouse Masters. Pete Nelson and his crew builds some of the most amazing tree houses in the world. There are several time-lapse build videos on YouTube. For copyright reasons I am unable to embed the videos here, but you and your family can view them on your own devices.

Supplies: Elmer's School Glue or a glue stick, 1 sheet of copier/printer paper, pencil, marker, and scissors.

Fold paper in half length-wise (hot dog)

Cut paper along fold line

Gently roll one piece of paper in half, but only crease/pinch the top, as shown in second pic. Mark glue tabs in pencil as shown.

Add a door and windows to lower 1/2 sheet. Add thatch lines radiating down & out from pinch mark on upper 1/2 sheet.

Marker over pencil lines. IF YOU WISH TO ADD COLOR TO YOUR HOUSE, DO IT NOW, BEFORE GLUE AND ASSEMBLY!

Apply generous layer of glue stick to tab on lower 1/2 sheet, carefully roll into cylinder, align and press glue tab against the back side of other paper end.

Apply generous layer of glue stick to tab on upper (roof) 1/2 sheet, carefully roll into cone with pinch/crease at top, the pinch point will become the point of the cone/roof, align and press glue tab against the back side of other paper end.

First, try placing the cone/roof onto the cylinder/house like a hat. it should fit but will still need trimming. Rotate point of cone so that it fits down inside of cylinder/house. Try to center the point into the cylinder. Lightly hold the cone into the center of the cylinder with your helper hand's pointer finger, and trace the top edge of the cylinder onto the cone with a pencil or light colored marker. This step is somewhat difficult, and you might even ask for help. It may be easier to trace your circle if a helper will hold the cone in place for you.

Check the circle you traced to make sure it goes all the way around the cone/roof. Then draw a second line around your cone/roof that is about an inch BELOW the line your traced. Before you cut, take a look at your line to make sure it's fairly even/level. Use your scissors to cut around the LOWER line (the second line you drew). This will allow your cone/roof to have an overhang, which will help to keep paper rain out of your paper house.

ALMOST DONE! Using Elmer's Glue, apply a thin line of glue along the top edge of your cylinder/house. It's great if a bit of the glue gets on the outside of the cylinder, because that's the part of the house that will need to stick to the cone/roof. Carefully center the cone/roof over the cylinder/house and press it down very gently. While the glue is still wet, take a look at your build, checking for level and center...if it looks good, allow the glue to dry for at least 15 minutes. After allowing your glue to dry, test your paper house by lifting it by its cone/roof. If the whole paper house holds together, NICE JOB! If it doesn't...don't worry. You can re-glue the two parts together or you can reinforce the connection by adding some tape to the INSIDE of the house where the cylinder meets the cone.

If you want the front door to open, carefully cut around the knob side and top of the door, then fold & gently crease along the hinge side of the door. These paper houses are a decent (but not perfect) scale for Lego Minifigures, as you can see.

Remember, it may take more than one attempt to get your paper house just the way you like it. The drawing and coloring on the house and roof could be done however you like! I would love to see and share some pics of your paper houses!

Share them with me at mwgriffi@jeffcoschools.us